{"id":488,"date":"2024-11-19T09:08:53","date_gmt":"2024-11-19T09:08:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/30\/?p=488"},"modified":"2026-05-21T18:34:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T18:34:57","slug":"on-the-cultural-virality-of-truth-in-kafka-and-the-kafkaesque","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/30\/on-the-cultural-virality-of-truth-in-kafka-and-the-kafkaesque\/","title":{"rendered":"On the Cultural Virality of Truth in Kafka and the Kafkaesque"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Martin Boszor\u00e1d<\/strong>*<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abstract<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The huge volume of Kafkaesque elements in contemporary society, both explicit and implicit, demonstrates the profound impact of Franz Kafka\u2019s work on cultural expression. This article examines a specific Kafkaesque theatrical project, the digital performance lab Theater in Quarantine and its 2020 adaptation of Kafka\u2019s short story, My Neighbor<\/font>. This adaptation, fully accessible online, disseminates Kafka\u2019s work in a theatrical format and renders it more accessible to a larger audience of online viewers. Drawing on Michel Foucault\u2019s concept of parrhesia, or, simply put, truth-telling<\/font>, the article explores whether or not it is possible or appropriate to view Kafka and Kafkaesque elements in contemporary culture as instances of parrhesia, especially when viewed through the lens of reflected artistic works.

Keywords<\/strong>: Kafka(esque), cultural icon, cultural virality, parrhesia, experience<\/p>\n\n\n\n

K. himself was slowly becoming TheAdjective<\/em>, which would be known by many more people than would ever read his books. Of course\u2014let\u2019s face it\u2014this has not a little to do with the sound of his terrifiK name and its terrifiK GermaniK \u201cK\u201ds, Kutting their way like Kutlasses through our Kollective Konsciousness. . . . (In his diary, he wrote: \u201cI find the letter \u2018K\u2019 offensive, almost disgusting, but I still use it.\u201d) Could he have become the powerful Adjective\u2014”Kafkaesque\u201d\u2014if his name had been Schwarz or Grodzinski or Blumenthal? (Crumb and Mairowitz 156)

The ratio of words written by Franz Kafka to words written about Franz Kafka has reached an astounding 1:10,000,000 this year. (Sl\u00edva 114)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Franz Kafka, who died in June 1924, is one of the most important and authoritative writers of the twentieth century, a brilliant diagnostician of the neurotic soul of modern man and, at the same time, it seems, a modern man of a fragile and neurotic soul. An author who addressed universal and timeless themes within the frame of an extremely recognizable authorial idiolect, he generated a unique poetics and perhaps because of that, a huge cultural impact. Even 100 years after his death, Kafka continues to fascinate, as expressed ironically but by no means untruthfully in one of Ji\u0159\u00ed Sl\u00edva\u2019s kafkorisms<\/em> (that is, aphorisms related to Kafka) mentioned above as a kind of motto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though there has been extensive discussion of and prolific writing about Kafka, his work continues to arouse interest as he still remains somewhat enigmatic and elusive. This is partly due to the overall atmosphere of his work, particularly in his novels The Trial<\/em> (1914\u201315; 1925) and The Castle<\/em> (1922\u201326). Kafka seems to be incarcerated between reality and truth, on the one hand, and myth or legend, on the other; a common state for culturally significant figures.[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

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A still from a video promoting the exhibition KAFKAesque <\/em>at the DOX Gallery in Prague (screenshot). The video is publicly available on YouTube<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Relevant to the present discussion is the term cultural icon,<\/em> as defined by Bent S\u00f8rensen and Helle Thors\u00f8e Nielsen (6) in what follows: \u201c[a] commercialized, yet sacralized visual, aural or textual representation anchored in a specific temporal\/historical and spatial\/geographical context, broadly recognized by its recipients as having iconic status for a group of human agents within one or several discursive fields\/communities.\u201d With regard to the preceding definition, I believe that Kafka is not only a cultural icon, but also a global icon, and possibly, according to Wolfgang Welsch\u2019s (39\u201366) definition of the term transculturality<\/em>, a transcultural icon as well. With respect to a playful excerpt from the illustrated biography, partly conceived in form of comics, Kafka<\/em> (2007) by Robert Crumb and David Zane Mairowitz, the term Kafkaesque<\/em> exemplifies Kafka’s cultural impact in a way that is largely intuitive and easily grasped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Kafka\u2019s work and legacy can be interpreted differently,[2]<\/sup><\/a> especially in retrospect, the adjective Kafkaesque<\/em> can also be variably understood. However, this typically occurs only at the level of semantic nuance, focusing on a specific shade of meaning. As the noted Czech poet and illustrator Ji\u0159\u00ed Sl\u00edva observes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is probably pointless to argue whether the adjective to use in connection with Kafka is humorous, comic, absurd, paradoxical, bizarre or black<\/em>. All of these characteristics have merged into one, easily understandable neologism: Kafkaesque. Franz Kafka must be the only author in history whose name has been adopted to signify a distinctive literary approach, but also to describe situations and incidents in his works. His humour is Kafkaesque; the situation is straight out of Kafka! (Sl\u00edva 114)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The volume of Kafkaesque evidence which underlies Franz Kafka\u2019s huge impact on culture, both explicit and implicit, is truly overwhelming, and also includes that part of culture designated as popular.[3]<\/sup><\/a> After all, this is one of the reasons why the phrase cultural virality <\/em>is part of the title of this essay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within a cultural frame, Kafka\u2019s shared resonance is both transcultural and intersubjective; that is, it is significant in relation to everyday life experience, the truth of being. Thus, Kafka lives on, not only because he is my cup of tea (this formulation is a reference to the trilingual collection of kafkorisms published by the Franz Kafka Society under the title My Cup of Kafka\/My Cup of Kafka\/Meine Tasse Kafka<\/em>, 2017), but also because he is the cup of tea of many others. Yet Kafka\u2019s work also prevails not only as part of the official literary canon but also as a component of living culture<\/em>, including everything from actual Kafka-related works of art to numerous forms of merchandise, from T-shirts to cups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With regard to art, there is a wealth of corpus delicti<\/em> to consider.  As I examine the fundamental art forms, such as literature, music, fine\/visual art, film\/cinema and theatre, and then highlight one representative example from each, I find them interesting and, relative to Kafka, true<\/em> in one way or another, even if that connection isn’t immediately apparent.  A notable example in the realm of literature is Mark Crick\u2019s unconventional and somewhat peculiar cookbook, Kafka’s Soup<\/em> (2005). In this work, the author conveys the entire history of world literature through 14 recipes, featuring Kafka’s character K. as he prepares Japanese Miso soup. In a fittingly enigmatic twist, Kafka\u2019s appraisal of the book as “indigestible” appears on its cover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this literary reimagining of Kafka, a significant meta-dimension is at play, as literature becomes self-referential and serves as its own subject. Similarly, in the realm of music, the Czech group Kafka Band has adapted Kafka’s prose into concert performances and has staged the plays Das Schloss<\/em> and Amerika<\/em> at Theater Bremen in Germany. Here, the concepts of intermediality, inter-art connections, and the transmedia transfer of a unique poetics are essential.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A still from Pavel \u0160im\u00e1k\u2019s documentary Kennen Sie Kafka<\/em>? (2024) (screenshot). The documentary is also publicly available on YouTube<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

A fascinating Kafkaesque film project is Peter Capaldi’s Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life<\/em> (1993). While the movie maintains an overall comedic tone, it has a biographical component related to its subject matter. At its core, the film pays homage to Kafka, celebrating the power of his work and the essence of the Kafkaesque. In this film, Kafka, referred to as Mr. K., writes his absurd story The Metamorphosis<\/em> during Christmas. However, he finds it extremely difficult to do so, as he is always disturbed by something and the muse eludes him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With reference to what happens in the film, I can’t help but ask myself a rhetorical question: Would it work, would it be true to life and existence, if Gregor Samsa discovered one morning that he had turned not into a gigantic insect but into a gigantic banana or a gigantic kangaroo? For however much Capaldi jokes in his short movie, he doesn\u2019t do so disrespectfully or inappropriately. The grotesque title itself is, in a sense, a wink towards the audience, as Kafka perceived his life as anything but purely beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A perfect demonstration of the presence of Kafka and the Kafkaesque in the broadly understood visual culture, as defined by James D. Herbert by means of democratization, globalisation and dematerialisation, was Prague\u2019s Dox Gallery exhibition entitled simply KAFKAesque<\/em> which was on display from February 2 to September 22, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Featuring such prominent and internationally recognized artists such as Mat Collishaw, Gottfried Helnwein and Jan \u0160vankmajer, and curated by Otto M. Urban, Leo\u0161 V\u00e1lka and Michaela \u0160ilpochov\u00e1, the exhibition\u2019s aim was, as stated on the gallery\u2019s website, \u201cnot to build new monuments repeating old clich\u00e9s, but to reflect Kafka’s work through the perspective of the contemporary world, which is at a point where the old no longer exists and the new has not yet been born.\u201d[4]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It could also be said that the exhibition displayed the veracity of Kafka\u2019s work while also foregrounding his artistic and life affirming legacy; his work seems to emanate inspiration.[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

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A still from Theater in Quarantine\u2019s adaptation of Kafka\u2019s short story My Neighbor<\/em> (screenshot). The full performance has been publicly available on YouTube<\/a> <\/em>since April 2020<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This special issue of Critical Stages<\/em> examines the connections across the works of Franz Kafka, a complex author whose writing can be interpreted through a lens of ambivalence and liminality. Kafka is often viewed as a dark visionary who anticipated events such as the Holocaust and the emergence of totalitarian regimes; some, including Jean-Paul Sartre, see him as a literary representation of existentialism. In this context, I aim to provide a detailed analytical and interpretive exploration of the digital performance lab Theater in Quarantine and its 2020 adaptation of Kafka’s short story My Neighbor<\/em>.[6]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This project is intriguing in the context of what I refer to as cultural virality<\/em>. It presents cultural content that, in today\u2019s age of internet dominance, is available entirely online. This approach allows for the broad dissemination of Kafka\u2019s work through a theatrical lens, specifically through an adaptation that closely follows the original text. It not only popularizes his work but also has the potential to go viral, as evidenced by its 4.8K subscribers on YouTube<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The freely available video, entitled Theater in Quarantine\u2014<\/em>The Neighbor by Franz Kafka,<\/em> includes the 12-minute performance, which adheres to the minimalism of the prosaic pretext<\/em> and also provides an insider\u2019s commentary by Joshua William Gelb. Gelb, who plays the representative of the main character, is the only actor in the performance and is also one of the creators, along with Joshua Price and the choreographer Katie Rose McLaughlin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gelb provides a code of reception and perception for accessing the theatrical work which informs the audience and prepares them for the performance they will see. For example, he explains how, during the challenging era of the global pandemic and quarantine, he transformed his apartment, more specifically his closet (that is, a \u201csimple utilitarian space\u201d) into a digital white box theatre. To further quote Gelb, he transformed his closet into an \u201caesthetically dynamic and creatively versatile performance laboratory.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Gelb notes in his performance-guide, \u201cWe don\u2019t have to sacrifice the integrity of the theatrical experience just because we\u2019re creating work online in isolation.\u201d When Gelb discusses his choice of Franz Kafka\u2019s short story, written in 1917, over other instances of what he describes as melancholic fiction, such as the minimalist prose of A. P. Chekhov, he characterizes Kafka\u2019s work as a \u201cfitting story.\u201d He connects the story to more contemporary circumstances of \u201cstay-at-home orders, social distancing, and the seemingly impossible efforts to collect unemployment,\u201d which he finds particularly Kafkaesque.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned above, Theater in Quarantine\u2014<\/em>The Neighbor by Franz Kafka, <\/em>is an instance of minimalist theatre, mirroring the minimalism of Kafka\u2019s poetics and literary language. The production is also minimalist in that the performance features a single actor\/character and a single prop. Crucially, sound is predominant as a medium of communication throughout the work, especially in the character\u2019s internal monologues that are presented in the form of voice over. The unsettlingly grotesque short story with a tragicomic character has the form of Ich-Erz\u00e4hlung, the sound of the phone, an important media-related reference to Kafka\u2019s short story. In this context, the telephone can be interpreted as a vehicle of communication which implies a false, distant presence and, in the spirit of Marshall McLuhan\u2019s work, represents a low-definition medium. With regard to sound as a means of communication, the accompanying music is also significant, as it strengthens considerably the expressive effect of tension and also defines a rhythm for the action.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A still from Theater in Quarantine\u2019s adaptation of Kafka\u2019s short story My Neighbor<\/em> (screenshot). Full performance has been publicly available on YouTube<\/a><\/em><\/a> since April 2020<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

However, the key component and instrument of the performance is the body. Thus, it is clearly an instance of physical theatre which is based on body-space dynamics. As such, the performance features self-haptics, gestures rich in meaning as signs to be deciphered, as well as dynamic dance-like movements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The use of repetition is also significant in the work.  It is utilized, for example, in the motif of gazing at the wall, hinting at a place beyond the space inhabited by the character, somewhere outside one\u2019s reach and thus beyond one\u2019s control and comprehension. This serves as another crucial reference to the pretext; the character of the mysterious neighbor Harras can be interpreted by means of a nomen omen, related to the English verb to harass<\/em>, thus creating a sense of discomfort, anxiety and worry for the protagonist, even in his absence. Repetition is crucial also in the visual conceptualization of the work. The wall not only separates but also connects and interconnects, similar to the function of the telephone described above: when the camera moves, the audience sees a multiplied and juxtaposed image.  Two mirror images display the action, yet one is delayed as compared to the other. As Gelb explained, the delay function in OBS streaming platform was used intentionally to achieve the desired expressive and significantly Kafkaesque effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the title of the conference at which this essay was presented is \u201cTruth\u201d in the Kafkaesque World of Theatre: Tragic or Comic?<\/em>, I am led to a particular issue, that of  Kafka\u2019s connection to truth or rather truth-telling.[7]<\/sup><\/a> What comes to mind is Michel Foucault\u2019s concept of parrhesia<\/em>, i.e. truth-telling or free speech. As Foucault explains:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parrhesia<\/em>, then, is linked to courage in the face of danger: it demands the courage to speak the truth in spite of some danger. And in its extreme form, telling the truth takes place in the game of life or death. . . . When you accept the parrhesiastic game in which your own life is exposed, you are taking up a specific relationship to yourself: you risk death to tell the truth instead of reposing in the security of a life where the truth goes unspoken. . . . But the parrhesiastes <\/em>primarily chooses a specific relationship to himself: he prefers himself as a truth-teller rather than as a living being who is false to himself. (qtd. in Pearson 16\u201317)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The discussion of Foucault’s ideas concerning truth and truth telling is also taken up by the Slovak philosopher Vladislav Suv\u00e1k in his book Foucault. <\/em>Od starosti o seba k estetike existencie a e\u0161te \u010falej <\/em>[Foucault. <\/em>From Concern for the Self to the Aesthetics of Existence and Beyond<\/em>] (2021). In his exposition, Suv\u00e1k reflects on the four modes of truth-telling (171\u201376): the first is tied to the seer, the second to the sage, the third to the teacher\/expert, and finally the fourth to the parrhesiast (parrh\u00e9siast\u00e9s<\/em>). Suv\u00e1k argues that the parrhesiast<\/em> discusses the truth in terms of the ethos-<\/em>area, rather than the fate-area, being-area or techne<\/em>-area of truth (175). A closer look at the expositions by Foucault and Suv\u00e1k reveals the problems inherent in characterizing Kafka as a true parrhesiast;<\/em> it would require a distortion of the concept and ideas in question.[8]<\/sup><\/a> In my opinion, Kafka\u2019s work can be analyzed as an instance of telling the truth in relation to his experience of the self, life and world, and the resulting sense of alienation, loneliness and existential anxiety.[9]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kafka\u2019s view of truth, as expressed in a well-known quote by the author, is intriguing: \u201cThe truth is always an abyss. One must, as in a swimming pool, dare to dive from the quivering springboard of trivial everyday experience and sink into the depths, in order to later rise again, laughing and fighting for breath, to the now doubly illuminated surface of things.\u201d Equally well-known is one of his insightful aphorisms: \u201cWahrheit ist unteilbar, kann sich also selbst nicht erkennen; wer sie erkennen will, muss L\u00fcge sein<\/em>,\u201d translated into English as \u201cTruth is indivisible, hence it cannot recognise itself; anyone who wants to recognise can only lie.\u201d[10]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It seems to me that even a hundred years after his death, Kafka is still telling the truth, as evidenced in the border crossing, intermedially conceived and virally presented theatre project discussed above. By reanimating Kafka, the work thematises a very Kafkaesque experience, that of the pandemic alienation, as well as the disturbing tragicomic or grotesque solitude, the feeling of being removed from and at the same time imprisoned in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both motifs resonate with another of Kafka\u2019s alleged aphorisms: \u201cA cage went in search of a bird.\u201d[11]<\/sup><\/a> Luckily, as Theater in Quarantine – The Neighbor by Franz Kafka <\/em>convincingly demonstrates it, the bird can escape the cage via the theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a>Endnotes<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/sup><\/a> This fact can be seen, for example, as the leitmotif of the documentary film aptly titled using the eloquent question mark Kennen Sie Kafka?<\/em> (2024; directed by Pavel \u0160im\u00e1k), and also of James Hawes\u2019 book Why You Should Read Kafka Before You Waste Your Life<\/em> (2008); in the bibliography I refer to its Czech translation. Especially in some passages, Hawes\u2019 book could seem quite radical in its diction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/sup><\/a> In this context, I would like to draw attention in particular to two interesting, quite different but not totally incompatible reflections on Kafka and his work: on the one hand, the very literary-like and even philosophical essay by J\u00fcrg Amann entitled Kafka. Wort-Bild-Essay<\/em> (2000); in the bibliography I refer to its Czech translation; on the other hand, Gilles Deleuze\u2019s and F\u00e9lix Guattari\u2019s treatise on Kafka, rather cryptically titled Kafka: Toward a Minor Literature <\/em>(1986).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/sup><\/a> The quality of being popular<\/em> can be understood in quite different ways. As far as Kafka is concerned, one of the manifestations of his popularity is his inclusion into what Andew Calcutt and Richard Shephard term as \u201ccult fiction\u201d in their book Cult Fiction: A Reader\u2019s Guide<\/em> (1998); in the bibliography I refer to its Czech translation.  Kafka, the literary embodiment of alienation and absurdity, thus finds himself in the company of such distinctive individuals such as the so-called father of magic realism, Jorge Luis Borges, or the so-called patroness of suicidal anxiety, Sylvia Plath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4]<\/sup><\/a> See and compare here<\/a> (ad hoc<\/em> translated from Czech by Martin Boszor\u00e1d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5]<\/sup><\/a> An interesting example of the above is the \u201ciconotextually conceived book Kafka<\/em> (2010) by the German artist Stefanie Harjes. As the author\u2019s medallion puts it, \u201c(t)his book tells the story of her wild dance with one of the most significant writers of the 20th century\u201d; (translated from German by Martin Boszor\u00e1d). Interestingly, Harjes opens her book with a quote from a personal and somewhat intimate letter addressed to Franz Kafka, a great enthusiast of letter correspondence: \u201cYou visited me night after night in my atelier and asked me your questions. And I tried to answer them, with my pictures. . . . Oh, dear Franz, I loved and hated you at the same time when you stole my sleep again and again, it was your closeness that kept me constantly on my toes.\u201d (Harjes 7; translated from German by Martin Boszor\u00e1d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6]<\/sup><\/a> A full performance supplemented with a commentary by the main creator is available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[7]<\/sup><\/a> Thus, I actually do not address the problem of the relationship between the comic and the tragic in connection to Kafka\u2019s work. However, I believe, and judging by various reflections on Kafka and his writing, I am not the only one, that the author\u2019s work is rather aptly described by the expressive category of the grotesque, a combination of the comic and the tragic, or alternatively, the ridiculous and the horrible. My understanding is based on the delineation of the aesthetic category of grotesqueness as elaborated by Ji\u0159\u00ed Van\u011bk, Vincent \u0160ab\u00edk, and Krzysztof Bili\u0144ski; see and compare (379\u201381).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[8]<\/sup><\/a> A significant complication in this respect could be what Andrew Calcutt and Richard Shephard (182\u201383) mention: the words which Kafka himself formulated in one of his letters, when he stated that there is a difference between what he writes, what he says, what he thinks, what he should think and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[9]<\/sup><\/a> The problems of human existence in relation to the personality\/life and work of Franz Kafka are dealt with by Franti\u0161ek Kautman in his treatise on the \u201cworld of Franz Kafka\u201d; this is the title of the book in the Czech original. See and compare (82\u201399).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[10]<\/sup><\/a> Wahrheit ist unteilbar<\/em> is actually the title of a book of aphorisms attributed to Kafka that was published in 2024 and edited by Marcel Krings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[11]<\/sup><\/a> This statement, constructing a symbolically strong poetic image, provided the title for a collection of Kafka-inspired short stories published in 2024 by Abacus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bibliography<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

A Cage Went in Search of a Bird. Ten Kafkaesque Stories.<\/em> Abacus, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amann, J\u00fcrg. Kafka. Esej slovem a obrazem.<\/em> Archa, 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calcutt, Andrew, and Richard Shephard. Cult Fiction. Pr\u016fvodce po kultovn\u00edm rom\u00e1nu.<\/em> Volvox Globator, 1999.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crick, Mark. U Kafky v kuchyni. <\/em>D\u011bjiny sv\u011btov\u00e9 literatury ve 14 receptech.<\/em> BB\/art, 2007.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crumb, Robert, David Zane Mairowitz. Kafka<\/em>, edited by Richard Appignanesi, Fantagraphics Books, 2007.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deleuze, Gilles, and F\u00e9lix Guattari. Kafka: Toward a Minor Literature. <\/em>U of Minnesota P, 1986.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harjes, Stefanie, and Franz Kafka. Kafka.<\/em> Ravensburger Buchverlag, 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hawes, James. Pro\u010d byste m\u011bli \u010d\u00edst Kafku, ne\u017e promarn\u00edte sv\u016fj \u017eivot<\/em>. Host, 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Herbert, James D. \u201cVizu\u00e1lna kult\u00fara\/vizu\u00e1lne \u0161t\u00fadi\u00e1.\u201d Kritick\u00e9 pojmy dej\u00edn umenia<\/em>, edited by Robert S. Nelson and Richard Schiff, Slovart, 2004.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kafka, Franz. Aforizmy a in\u00e9 krut\u00e9 rozko\u0161e\/Aphorismen und andere grausame Wonnen.<\/em> MilaniuM, 2003.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kautman, Franti\u0161ek. Sv\u011bt Franze Kafky.<\/em> Torst, 1990.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Krings, Marcel, editor. Wahrheit ist unteilbar. Die Aphorismen.<\/em> Philipp Reclam Verlag, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McLuhan, Marshall. Jak rozum\u011bt m\u00e9di\u00edm. Extenze \u010dlov\u011bka.<\/em> Odeon, 1991.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M\u00fcller, Michael, editor. Franz Kafka: Erz\u00e4hlungen.<\/em> Philipp Reclam Verlag, 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pearson, Joseph, editor. Michel Foucault: Fearless Speech<\/em>. Semiotext(e), 2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sl\u00edva, Ji\u0159\u00ed. M\u016fj \u0161\u00e1lek Kafky\/Meine Tasse Kafka\/My Cupk of Kafka<\/em>. Spole\u010dnost Franze Kafky ve spolupr\u00e1ci s Nakladatelstv\u00edm Franze Kafky, 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

S\u00f8rensen, Bent, and Helle Thors\u00f8e Nielsen. \u201cCultural Iconicity. An Emergent Field<\/a>.\u201c Akademisk kvarter\/Academic Quarter<\/em>, vol. 10, 2015, pp. 5\u201320 (Accessed 28 June, 2016).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suv\u00e1k, Vladislav. Foucault. Od starosti o seba k estetike existencie a e\u0161te \u010falej<\/em>. Petrus, 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van\u011bk, Ji\u0159\u00ed, Vincent \u0160ab\u00edk, and Krzysztof Bili\u0144ski. \u201cGrotesknos\u0165 v\u00fdrazu.\u201d Tezaurus estetick\u00fdch v\u00fdrazov\u00fdch kval\u00edt<\/em>, edited by \u013dubom\u00edr Plesn\u00edk, Univerzita Kon\u0161tant\u00edna Filozofa v Nitre, 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Welsch, Wolfgang. \u201cWas ist eigentlich Transkulturalit\u00e4t?\u201d Hochschule als transkultureller Raum? Kultur, Bildung und Differenz in der Universit\u00e4t<\/em>, edited by Lucyna Darowska. Thomas L\u00fcttenberg, and Claudia Machold, transcript Verlag, 2010. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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*<\/a>Martin Boszor\u00e1d<\/strong> received his decentship  and his PhD. in the field of aesthetics after earlier studies in aesthetic education and German language and literature. He is a fellow of the Institute of Literary and Artistic Communication at the Department of Ethics and Aesthetics, Constantine the Philosopher University, Nitra, Slovakia. His research interests include mainly the theorization of popular culture, history and theory of literature with an emphasis on genre theory and specifically the border-crossing issue of intermediality. He is, among other things, also the author of two scholarly monographs, Pragmatika (liter\u00e1rnej) mystifik\u00e1cie<\/em> [Pragmatics of (Literary) Mystification] (2021) and Od arcitextu k pop-textu (a vice versa)<\/em> [From Arch-text to Pop-text (and vice versa)] (2022). One of his tattoos is a tribute to Franz Kafka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Copyright \u00a9<\/strong> 2024 Martin Boszor\u00e1d
Critical Stages\/Sc\u00e8nes critiques<\/em>, #30, Dec. 2024
e-ISSN: 2409-7411<\/p>\n\n\n

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